Minimum wage by state
General statewide hourly minimum wage, hand-verified against the US Department of Labor table. Where rates vary by employer size or region, the large-employer or standard rate is shown.
Top of the list: District of Columbia at $18.40. Bottom: 20 states tied at $7.25.
| # | State | Minimum wage | Price level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $18.40 | 109.9 |
| 2 | Washington | $17.13 | 107.0 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $16.94 | 103.6 |
| 4 | California | $16.90 | 110.7 |
| 5 | Hawaii | $16.00 | 110.0 |
| 6 | New York | $16.00 | 107.9 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $16.00 | 102.3 |
| 8 | New Jersey | $15.92 | 108.8 |
| 9 | Oregon | $15.55 | 103.4 |
| 10 | Colorado | $15.16 | 103.1 |
| 11 | Arizona | $15.15 | 100.7 |
| 12 | Maine | $15.10 | 97.1 |
| 13 | Delaware | $15.00 | 99.8 |
| 14 | Florida | $15.00 | 103.4 |
| 15 | Illinois | $15.00 | 100.0 |
| 16 | Maryland | $15.00 | 105.0 |
| 17 | Massachusetts | $15.00 | 105.8 |
| 18 | Missouri | $15.00 | 90.8 |
| 19 | Nebraska | $15.00 | 90.1 |
| 20 | Vermont | $14.42 | 98.0 |
| 21 | Alaska | $14.00 | 102.4 |
| 22 | Michigan | $13.73 | 96.2 |
| 23 | Virginia | $12.77 | 101.1 |
| 24 | Nevada | $12.00 | 100.0 |
| 25 | New Mexico | $12.00 | 92.2 |
| 26 | South Dakota | $11.85 | 88.6 |
| 27 | Minnesota | $11.41 | 98.6 |
| 28 | Arkansas | $11.00 | 86.9 |
| 29 | Ohio | $11.00 | 92.8 |
| 30 | Montana | $10.85 | 94.6 |
| 31 | West Virginia | $8.75 | 89.5 |
| 32 | Alabama | $7.25 | 88.8 |
| 33 | Georgia | $7.25 | 96.3 |
| 34 | Idaho | $7.25 | 95.5 |
| 35 | Indiana | $7.25 | 93.3 |
| 36 | Iowa | $7.25 | 87.8 |
| 37 | Kansas | $7.25 | 90.1 |
| 38 | Kentucky | $7.25 | 90.2 |
| 39 | Louisiana | $7.25 | 88.2 |
| 40 | Mississippi | $7.25 | 87.0 |
| 41 | New Hampshire | $7.25 | 104.2 |
| 42 | North Carolina | $7.25 | 94.3 |
| 43 | North Dakota | $7.25 | 89.0 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | $7.25 | 87.8 |
| 45 | Pennsylvania | $7.25 | 97.6 |
| 46 | South Carolina | $7.25 | 93.7 |
| 47 | Tennessee | $7.25 | 91.9 |
| 48 | Texas | $7.25 | 97.1 |
| 49 | Utah | $7.25 | 98.9 |
| 50 | Wisconsin | $7.25 | 94.1 |
| 51 | Wyoming | $7.25 | 92.7 |
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division — State Minimum Wage Laws / Consolidated State Minimum Wage Update Table · data · 2026 · rel. DOL table effective 2026-07-01 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-10-24
Understanding minimum wage by state
Across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, minimum wage spans from $18.40 in the District of Columbia at the top of the list to $7.25 at the bottom. The three at the top are the District of Columbia, Washington, and Connecticut; 20 states are tied at the bottom at $7.25.
The District of Columbia has the highest minimum wage at $18.40 an hour, followed by Washington ($17.13), Connecticut ($16.94), and California ($16.90). Rhode Island, New York, and Hawaii are at $16.00, with New York's higher $17.00 rate applying in New York City and its suburbs. Eighteen states and DC now require at least $15.00.
Twenty states use the federal minimum of $7.25, either because they have no minimum wage law of their own or because their rate is not higher. Most are in the South and the Plains. The federal rate has not changed since 2009, so the gap between the highest and lowest minimums has kept widening.
The second column shows each state's overall price level. States with high minimum wages are mostly expensive states, so the gap in purchasing power is smaller than the gap in dollars. Many cities and counties also set their own higher minimums, and several states raise their rate every year with inflation, so check the current local rate before relying on these figures.